Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Alterations

(Note - these are all cell phone photos because my fancy camera died on me).

I hope that you are all having a great week. Mine is going by fast yet steady - keeping busy but not too busy. Stuff is getting done that's for sure!

This week I wanted to share with you a few things I have been working on that I unearthed from the past. Maybe you know this story: You find the perfect pattern to go with your yarn, but the size options are either 2 inches to small or 2 inches too big, even with ease. You decide to cast on anyway with the larger size, remembering your gauge and constant weight change. The result? Well lets just say you probably could have gone down a size and still been good.

Sigh, this has happened to me twice with knitting tops, both times turning out too big and both times being tops I know I would wear more if they fit me properly. Well last night I decided that I couldn't no longer take staring at them in my drawer while the sunny Texas weather yells for them to be worn. Scrap yarn and needle in hand, I went to work.

The first is my Purple Opals, a project I did a little under a year ago with Cascade Ultra Pima. I love this yarn and the pattern together, but the pattern is written huge. The result? A boxy, super drapy tee that is at least 5 inches too round.

original, photo from 2015

So how did I fix something with so many holes in it? Well it took me a bit to figure this out, but in the end I settled on side tucks, which were achieved by pinching two of the cables together to sew into one cable. And since they are on the side, you can barely tell unless I stand still and you look. I also did a couple tucks to the back collar.

You really can't tell! The right shows my HUGE tuck, which I may sew flat soon.

The second problem child was by "Blue Diamonds" knit in Tahki Ripple yarn. This one was a bit easier to fix because the pattern won't show the tucks as easily. And tucks is what I did again, this time less wide. Another issue though was the neck hole, which was massive and ended below my breasts. The solution? I knitted in a triangle to the back part so the top hits my neck closer.

Original, photo taken 2014

The almost invisible seam and the neck hole triangle

Finally, just for giggles, I added a pompom to my fluffy green hat this week. I wish it were even bigger, but I didn't have a jumbo maker and cardboard wasn't agreeing with me.

So, have you ever had any major knitting alterations you've had to make? I'd love to hear !